yes.. and the key to it is that it relies on deuterium ion intertia with magnetic confinement rather than heat produced by magnetic compression to achieve fusion. They are also considering Boron-Proton fusion. They've had tremendous difficulty in getting funding over the years (competing for NIF and ITER funds), so the Navy funding has been keeping them afloat. Interestingly, they've made all of their progress on only about $27M. Before he died, Bussard believed that they could make a fully operational reactor with ion densities and fusion rates high enough for positive power gain for about $100M-$200M. But like ITER and NIF, extracting usable energy will be a huge design and materials challenge.

--------------"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke
"Ignorance is natural. Stupidity takes commitment." -Solomon Short

Well it won't operate nofer trunnions and lacks a barescent skor motion but it could be employed in conjunction with a drawn reciprocating dingle arm to reduce sinusoidal depleneration of the magnets. But of course that will require tritium ions

2.5 cords of wood for my house last winter.
My highest power bills are $50 a month.
New house, it is what some would consider small, plus insulation and modern windows. Big windows too. Ancient technology also works. I realize wood heat is not a good thing for densely populated areas, but most folks around here use it.

--------------What's especially fun about sock puppets is that you can make each one unique and individual, so that they each have special characters. And they don't have to be human––animals and aliens are great possibilities

One, there is tremendous need and potential for economic innovation in clean technologies, even as we approach physical limitations in how efficiently they can produce energy. These will be essential, as we need to buy down the cost of clean tech to the point where it "beats the grid unsubsidized."

Two, we need to be building things in America. Manufacturing will be a vital and economically invigorating component of the transition to clean energy, and missing out on that opportunity would be devastating to American competitiveness and economic health. Without manufacturing, says Joy, we will become overly dependent on a service economy, which will "run idle."

Three, government support is required for private ventures to "cross the chasm" that prevents the free market from achieving the energy technology goals we aspire to. Prompted by a question from the audience, Joy said his preferred government policy is loan guarantees, which have mostly been used in the past for projects with high upfront capital expenditures. (from theenergycollective.com)

Interesting to see that Japan has cancelled all plans for future nuclear plants.

Point two is destructive to trade and the ascension of the vital process of division of labor. Taken to it's actual conclusion, Oregon should not be trading with Washington, nor Seattle with Tacoma.

Point three does not account for the actual time value cost of the subsidies carried into the future.

The true cost of the supposely cheaper future results is the time cost plus interest of ALL of the subsidies from the first second they are paid. Except for very, very minor subsidies, I suspect there are few if any cases in which the supposed savings of a subsidized outcome was not dwarfed by the time value of the sum of the subsidies over the duration until the subsidized product was 'viable'. A state, I might add, it is in the producers interest to avoid in the interest of guaranteed subsidy money.

On the third point I guess my take is this...make all the moral and other arguments desired, but supposed savings of any kind from subsidy when looked at in the proper light is pretty dubious.

--------------Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock. - Will Rogers

Who said manufacturing was the be all end all of goals? Is it written somewhere that the industrial configuration of some past decade is the 'best' for later decades? Those jobs are going away because the creative destruction of the market is moving that capital elsewhere.

It seems to me being wedded to any particular arrangement and simply mandating and pushing that one is the exact kind of thing that led to housing bubbles. These fixations are counterproductive in a dynamic world.

Why is it that Shelton should ship logs to Centralia to be milled? THat takes mill jobs from Shelton, after all. The well meaning provincialism evidenced by the protectionist sentiments are counterproductive.

--------------Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock. - Will Rogers

I'm not sure what the problem is. Attempting stasis is not a good idea, and true innovation breaks through on it's own. What's so contentious? I think all the experimenting is great, and I can think that and oppose further rigging of the situation at the same time.

--------------Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock. - Will Rogers

What do you mean by "actual time value cost of the subsidies carried into the future"? Can you clarify that?

Sure. The actual cost of the entire subsidy program is actually the value of that money had it been invested at a rate of return consistent with market rates.

After all, that money is not available for market use since it has been routed to subsidy. The opportunity cost is actually two fold, the zero sum transfer as a subsidy ...when the market spending it would have increased wealth. Then the value that money would have had as an investment yielding a return, evaluated over the time period of the subsidy itself.

I'll get to the rest later.

--------------Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock. - Will Rogers

The tiny engine is part of the automaker’s push to increase the fuel efficiency of its lineup by building smaller, but more powerful, engines. Despite its itty-bitty size, Ford says the turbocharged 1.0-liter Ecoboost engine will provide the torque and power of a 1.8 1.6-liter four-cylinder.

--------------Touron is a nougat of Arabic origin made with almonds and honey or sugar, without which it would just not be Christmas in Spain.

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